Hong Kong Launches Residency Scheme For (Very) High Net Worth Investors

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

28 February 2002

The Hong Kong Government this week unveiled plans for the debut of an investment residency scheme, designed to attract international investment to the SAR. However, potential applicants may be somewhat thin on the ground, due to the proposed minimum investment level - $6.5 million.

Speaking to journalists, HK Secretary for Security, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee revealed that investors wishing to apply for permanent residence in Hong Kong will also be required to live in the region for seven years, although they will not need to establish a business there in order to qualify.

The money would need to be invested in Hong Kong properties, securities, or investment funds, said the Security Secretary, and checks would be made to ensure that the money was not removed during the qualifying period.

Mrs Ip admitted that the Government had yet to finalise the minimum investment amount, but said that it was considering a sum around the amount charged by Singapore for economic residency, which currently stands at $6.3 million. 'I think Hong Kong should be more expensive than Singapore,' she added, settling on $6.5 million as the most likely proposition.

However, there have been criticisms that the figure announced by the Security Secretary is too high, and that combined with the fact that the opportunity is not open to investors from mainland China, it will stifle international demand. Immigration experts have also suggested that the seven year 'holding period' is restrictively long, explaining that in other countries popular with investors such as Singapore, the waiting period is only three years.

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